Love can kill
by MercenaryCrime
Summary: Lavi Bookman, a well-known detective, is following a mysterious string of murders haunting the streets of London, his only clue, a particularly breath-taking young woman. Can he solve the case before he becomes the next victim? Laven, contains coarse language, gore and some level of intimacy!
1. Chapter 1

_**Lavi Bookman, a well-known detective, is investigating the mysterious string of murders happening in London. His only clue, a particularly breath-taking young woman! Can Lavi solve the case before he becomes the next victim?**_

**Contains Laven**

**Also contains coarse language courtesy of Kanda, gore and some level of intimacy**

Lavi gazed at the crime scene, it was the second one this week, but that didn't mean that the number of dead was two, no, the death toll had now risen to a frightful nine and it refused to stop rising.

He took in a deep breath and took in the scene before him; it was similar if not the same as the previous victims. The victim's body was in a state of disembodiment, it could barely be recognized as human. It lay amongst its own lifeblood that had once flowed freely through its connecting veins that were now severed and drying out the more it lay exposed to the sunlight.

Surprisingly enough, the blood was only visible as a pool not even a speck of blood could be found on the walls despite the extent of injures that seemed to have been caused by something, inhuman.

Lavi shivered at the thought and turned to a young Chinese woman writing down notes on the clipboard cradled in her arms.

'Nothing, there's nothing else to report but the state of the victim's body, Lavi,' she sighed heavily, she had seen this scene eight times and was disappointed and a bit paranoid that they still hadn't found a single clue.

'Don't worry Lenalee, as perfect as this killer may be, there still has to be a weak point, somewhere where he is flawed and expose it,' Lenalee gazed at him, her skeptical thoughts were evident yet not readable as she turned on her foot and headed out to talk to her brother Komui, the Administrator for Lavi's investigation company, Black Order Investigation.

Soon enough something white caught his attention as it lay cowering behind a dumpster hoping not to be seen. Lavi raised an eyebrow and walked over slowly, he was curious as he reached around the dumpster and caught sight of pale hair and piercing silver eyes.

The owner of such fine features pressed they back against the wall, their eyes filled with terror as Lavi eyed the blood that trailed down the front of their blouse before he noticed her injury.

'Are you alright, Miss?' Lavi knelt down beside her but his sudden movements caused her to bolt away from him in fright, unfortunately for her she couldn't get far because she ran head first into a rather grumpy Asian man with his long raven hair tied up in a ponytail.

Lavi flinched as the man took one glance at her and gripped her shoulder tightly.

'Yuu let her go,' Kanda didn't abide and continued to hold her firmly in his grip, giving Lavi the death stare.

'Do not USE my first name, baka usagi!' Kanda growled as Lavi came up to him and took a closer look at the woman. Out of the shadows, her hair was as white as snow, and her silver eyes sparkled. Her pale complexion just made her appearance seem exotic and unusual but then Lavi's eye fell on the part of her face that was covered by bloodied strand of hair as he gently lifted his hand to brush them aside.

She flinched when he did this but she didn't try anything funny since Kanda still had a particularly strong grip on her. As Lavi finally brushed the hair away, he frowned with concern before turning to Lenalee.

'Lenalee, take this woman to hospital, whatever happens, keep her in your sights at all times!' Lavi said as Lenalee nodded and took the young woman's hand gently and led her into the waiting carriage that was suppose to take them back to the office.

'Why'd you let her go, baka? She could be a clue,'

'I'm not an idiot, Kanda, that's why I told Lenalee to look after her, if she saw what happened, which I suspect she did, then I want to wait till she calms down,' Lavi explained to his impatient partner who just grumbled with annoyance and stalked off to help the police keep the people at bay while some men in black began to collect the man's remains and clean up the mess so that the street could be used again.

Lavi sighed and scratched the back of his head, if his hunch was right, he had finally found a lead, but what if the woman hadn't seen the killer and her injures were merely because of something else. Well he'll find out once she was fit to talk as he walked over to Komui who was having a heated argument with the head of Police.

'Well, I still see nothing has been done to stop this serial killer!' the police officer growled as Komui frowned at him.

'We're having as much difficulty as you are, it's just finding the first lead, I'm sure you're aware of this,' Komui's words made the man grumble even louder as his gazed flickered at Lavi and turned back to Komui.

'You people are a joke, having a kid as the head investigator of your branch,' the man snorted before storming off to finish preparing the street for reopening. Lavi chuckled to himself as Komui wondered over to him.

'I don't find this particular funny… by the way, where's Lenalee?' Lavi knew that the man was bound to ask that sooner or later since he has a terrible sister complex.

'With a suspect I hope will help us with the case,' Lavi replied without hesitation as Komui frowned, clearly wanting an explanation.

'I found a young woman,' Lavi clarified, 'and she seems to sport a fair amount of blood and has a nasty cut down the left side of her face.'

Komui thought carefully about this.

'We can't jump to conclusions Lavi,'

'I know,' Lavi replied bleakly.

**A/N**

**I hope you enjoyed this… I had a little bit of writer's block for one of my other stories and decided to write this while it was still in my head.**

**Please review and tell me what you think…**


	2. Chapter 2

Lavi gently knocked on the door to the room where the young woman was being held. According to Lenalee, she hadn't spoken a single word when Lenalee had asked for her name and where she lived. The woman remained mute as the nurses had cleaned her up and bandaged the cut on the left side of her face.

The young woman was wide-awake gazing out the window with her silver eyes shining in the low afternoon sun. Her hair was a tangled mess over her shoulders as she barely acknowledged his presence.

Lavi coughed softly to get her attention but she almost jumped out of the bed and onto the floor in shock. He was beginning to think that he should wait a little longer but he wanted to see if the woman was all right.

'So how are you feeling?' Lavi asked as he pulled himself a chair and gazed at her with leveled eyes. There was no answer as she stared at the far corner of the bed, keeping as much distance between him and her.

Lavi seemed slightly disheartened by her reaction and sighed heavily ruffling his bright red hair as he tried to think of something else that won't frighten her more.

'How old are you?' Nothing

'What's your name?' She kept her pale lips sealed.

Lavi gave up and got up and turned to leave, grabbing the handle of the door. He heard a brief shuffling of sheets before a pair of arms wrapped around his waist causing him to let go of the handle. Lavi swiveled around in the arms and saw the girl bury her face into the folds of his knee-length trench coat with her shoulders shaking slightly.

He was startled at how quickly the girl could move as he gingerly led her back to her bed and pried her arms from around him. Her face was smeared with glistening tears as he pulled the covers back over her and left her there to rest.

* * *

'So… how was it?' Asked a curious Lenalee as Lavi left the room. Lavi shrugged and walked down the corridor.

'Nothing, I believe she had seen something but the trouble is getting her to talk,' Lavi said as the Chinese woman frowned beside him. She seemed to be in slight agreement with him as they entered the foyer of the hospital.

'Maybe give her time…'

'And what if the killer finds out that we have a clue? Wouldn't he kill her?' Lavi's outburst attracted the attention of the whole foyer as he cursed softly and lowered his voice.

'All I'm saying is that she is our only clue in solving this case, her silence is just a milestone,' Lavi reassured her but she wasn't so easily convinced giving him a frown.

'If you say so…?' her uncertainty evident in her voice as she began to flick through the file she had managed to obtain.

'As of yet, the body hasn't been identified,'

'In the sorry state its in, no kidding!' Lenalee glared at him, his joke having failed to amuse her. Lavi flinched, man did her stare have to be dangerous, and she could just be as bad as her brother.

'Fine, I'm going to the office everything here, okay?' Lavi quickly said before leaving and walking. Lavi was very disturbed ever since the first of the murders was discovered in the gutter, seemingly wrenched apart by a wild animal. The person to realize it was human was when they noticed the bloodstained wallet and quickly called police.

Lavi shivered when they had to remove the frosted remains from the snow covered ground, it wasn't an easy take and it was made harder because the blood had iced and attempts were fruitless to remove it. Having said that, it was still there.

He paused on the edge of the curb and wanted the carriage pass before making his way to the other side when he was suddenly stopped by a familiar police officer. Lavi groaned aloud as he turned to face the officer with a rather bored look. The officer just stared back with a rather annoyed look.

'Why didn't you tell me that you have a suspect?' the officer demanded as he made an attempt to step pass Lavi but Lavi blocked his way with a firm hand on the shoulder.

'I couldn't because she is unlikely the one we seek,' Lavi said firmly and still didn't let the officer go.

'She was there wasn't she, all the more…'

'She was injured herself, besides the woman is under my care until I've confirmed her identity and statement,' the officer was not the least pleased to hear that as Lavi finally let go of his shoulder.

'Wait till the Inspector gets whiff of this then you may be seeing the inside of a jail before her,' the policeman's threat was little more than trivial to Lavi. No matter what words the man could come up with it was always something to stop Lavi from sticking his nose around… and he wasn't going to stop that anytime soon.

'Do as you please, but leave the woman alone until I've gathered what I want from her,' the officer huffed and stalked off while Lavi shrugged childishly and continued on his route to the Office where he knew Komui would be at.

* * *

Lavi continued to walk hearing the snow crunch underneath his boots as he quickly made his way to the Office before anymore uncalled for conversations happened.

He quickly arrived at a building squished unpleasantly between a shoe store and a cake shop. It was red bricked with black paneled windows that were covered by white-laced curtains. It could have easily been mistake as a small home but the brass plate nailed above the door said otherwise.

_Black Order Investigation_

**Author's note:**

**Another chapter for you to reader and also thanks to those who have favorite this story, it really caught me off guard! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

Lavi walked down the rather spacious office, plain-whitewashed wallpaper contrasted nicely with the black paneling of the windows. There were a few plants dotting here and there to add to the dull living space and Lavi felt like he couldn't work anywhere else.

He headed towards the only door, which wasn't dark stained wood like the others and tapped against the dull metal surface. Lavi heard some shuffling until finally the door budged open and a pair of purple eyes were glaring at him before easing.

'Oh, hello Lavi~ came to see the corpse?'

'Yes Komui, how's identifying it going?' Komui stood aside to allow Lavi entrance before closing the door behind them. They walked down the steps and into the chilled room of the basement made especially for identifying the bodies before they were buried.

'That is a very interesting question, but yes, after playing puzzle and going through several files though,' Komui explained as he led Lavi over to the metal table and pulled back the sheet covering the lump underneath.

Lavi winced when he saw it but no one could blame him as he stared into the distorted face of what Komui could put back together. He understood what the man had meant when he said 'after playing puzzle'.

The body had been neatly stitched back together though there seemed to be many pieces of the man still missing like a few fingers and an ear.

'It wasn't easy, the state of the body is the worse yet, I fear that this killer's getting serious,' Komui said replacing the sheet back and walked over to a bench where he retrieved a file and handed it to Lavi.

'The man is Mana Walker; age was 49 birth date unknown and occupation was in the entertainment business,' Komui explained as Lavi read the exact information off the sheet.

'But what about…?'

'Look on the next section,' Komui insisted as Lavi did just that and flipped onto a completely different file.

_Name: Nella Walker_

_Age: 20_

_Birth date: Unknown_

Lavi realized an eyebrow when he saw similarities between the woman in the picture and the woman who was now in hospital.

'It would seem like Mr. Walker had an adopted daughter by the name of Nella Walker, they had arrived in London about a month ago,' Lavi glanced up, that was about the same time the killings started.

'So there is a possibility that she did see the killer, but why didn't he kill her too?'

'I'm at odds there, Lavi, all I can say is what I've read,'

Lavi sighed and handed the files back to Komui. He had no choice, he had to try to talk to the woman again and maybe this time he might get something from her.

'Thanks Komui, keep me informed if any new information comes in,'

'Obviously,' Komui called back rolling his eyes as Lavi exited the basement and headed back between the offices just as Kanda rushed towards him.

'Baka usagi, the bitch ran off,'

'Who?' Lavi asked in a daze as he wondered how quickly Kanda had reached back to the office. Kanda growled with annoyance.

'That woman who you asked Lenalee to look after… she bloody ran off,' the first thing to come into his head was one simple word… _SHIT!_

**Author's Note**

**Yeah another chapter, I hope that the support for this story keeps going… and please review about what you think might happen or something! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

'How did she run off?' Lavi demanded as he and Kanda hurried back to the hospital.

'How the fuck should I know, baka usagi! Lenalee was looking after her,' Getting angry at Kanda was never a good idea, it was like messing with fire and when you did you most likely got burned!

Lavi held his tongue from saying anything else as he walked into the hospital and watched as Lenalee came up to him.

'I'm sorry, I let her out of my sight of a minute and then she was gone!' Lenalee seemed very upset about this as Lavi nodded and scurried about the building to see if Nella was still there. But the woman seemed to be very elusive as he walked back to the foyer shaking his head.

'We have to check around town or else she might become the next victim,' Lenalee and even Kanda nodded as they rushed out of the hospital. Lenalee took the way back to the office via the train station. Kanda took to the outskirts of the city, which meant that Lavi was left to scour everywhere else.

….

Lavi jogged about keeping his eyes peeled for the familiar sight of white hair and the bandages that covered the woman's left side of her face. For some reason it was much more difficult as he stopped and scratched his head. This was a bother, he need to find her quickly because for all he knew, the police might take the chance to grab her.

'Oi, what a pretty thing like you doing here?' Lavi tilted his head to the side when he heard this and wondered down the nearby alleyway where he found a small gathering of men surrounding a rather short slender person.

Lavi recognized the white mop of hair as the woman; she was still in the clothes given to her at the hospital that matched her white hair. Her back was pressed against the wall as she eyed the men fearfully.

'What's going on here?' Lavi called out drawing the attention of the men whom seemed rather pissed that someone had bothered to distract them. The woman took but one glance and ran at Lavi and clung to his arm, hiding her face in his sleeve.

'Do you know her?'

'Not directly,'

'Then fuck off!' the woman shivered slightly as he felt that she was trying to get him to move away. Lavi looked down at her and wrapped his arms hesitantly around her leading her away.

'Oi!' Lavi pushed the woman away and ducked under the man's fist before clutching it and flung the man onto his back quickly.

'I'd advise against it, I've memorized each of your faces and if I report an assault to the police, they'll be at your front door this evening,' Lavi said darkly as the men flinched and hurried off as the woman slowly came up behind him. He turned to her and took in her blue-hued skin as she slowly shuddered. Lavi sighed and took off his coat and wrapped it around her before leading her back to the hospital.

'You know a thank you would be appreciated, Nella,' the woman tensed under his grip and she stiffly nodded but didn't say anything.

'Yeah I kind of had to look you up in our files,' Lavi said feeling the awkwardness of this one-sided conversation.

'You must have loved Mana, dearly right? If you could tell us who had done this, we can bring justice for him and the other victims,' Lavi explained to her but her only response were silent tears rolling down her cheeks. Lavi grizzled at himself for pressing too much information onto her when she still needed to recover from the trauma she had experienced.

….

Lenalee rushed up to them as they entered the foyer of the hospital, her hands running up and down Nella seeing if the woman was all right. She was but very cold as the nurses quickly took her away to warm her up.

Lavi sighed as he watched Nella go, he was still anger at himself for making her remember what had happened to Mana, he had been an idiot to bring that up a little too soon. He heard Kanda approach him, a rather sullen look on his face as Lavi glanced up at him as the Japanese man stood in front of him.

'There's been another victim…' Lavi stood up in shock… so soon!

'Where? Lavi asked quickly as Kanda handed him a sheet, Komui's handwriting evident upon it. Lavi grimly read the words before scrunching it in his fist.

'Let's go,'

**There we go, thank you for your reviews, I hadn't realized that I needed breaklines… sorry about that! But I managed to fix it and have reposted them so please continue your reviews! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

Lavi passed the policeman as he entered the hotel room with Kanda close behind him. The first thing to greet him was the strong stench of blood and then the sight. It was everywhere, the colour red, the walls, paintings and even the bed sheets. He quickly made his way to the bathroom where the victim's remains were found.

He was surprised that the victim had enough blood for all this mess as he gazed at the tattered and hacked body of the latest victim. Lavi frowned as he barely made out the features of the man's sliced face.

'Kanda pass me something to wipe the victim's face,'

'I ain't handing over anything, baka usagi!' Kanda hissed as Lavi gave up and pulled out his own handkerchief and wiped the blood away. When he had cleared away most of it, he froze, he recognized the victim if not by name but by what little detail was left their face.

'It's one of the men that were harassing Nella,'

'You mean moyashi?'

'Yes… search the place to see if anything was stole,' Lavi ordered as Kanda wondered off growling about not wanting to touch anything that was in the awful room. Lavi sighed and quickly went to the door where Komui greeted him.

'Good, I was about to call you,' Lavi said as Komui frowned.

'Unlike you, I don't have the leisure to wonder about as freely,'

'Except when you're trying to assassinate Lenalee's dates,' Lavi snickered smugly as Komui threw a slight fit.

'They were going to defile her…'

'Anyway, what do you think?' Lavi said interrupting Komui and showing the man the next victim. Komui knelt beside it, studying the cuts and gashes all over the corpses body.

'It looks rushed but definitely from the same killer,' Komui confirmed as he paused and pried open on of the deeper wounds and pulled something out, it was a shade of dark metal.

'What do we have here?' Komui seemed to hum as he placed in into a clear bag to investigate when he got back to the office. Lavi took the bag and gazed at the bloodied metal with a slightly frown.

'He seems to have been careless this time,' Lavi pointed out as Komui nodded slowly but it didn't seem to be in agreement.

'The killer might have been running short on time and the quickness of it seemed like he was trying to get in and out without anyone hearing a sound,' Lavi scratched his head and moaned aloud.

'How about making yourself useful and talk to the people down stairs?' Komui suggested as Lavi trudged out of the muck and back into the hallway.

….

Down in the foyer, the police had gathered the people present in the time of the victim's apparent murder. All of them, Lavi noted, seemed rather shaken and afraid of what had happened just moments ago.

They people themselves were not helpful, they said that they hadn't noticed anything odd at the time because many people walked in and out of the hotel constantly because of the downstairs restaurant.

It was frustrating to know that not even one of these people had heard or seen anything. As expected, this criminal was elusive, a mastermind that Lavi would silently agree upon.

But one thing was for certain, the victim had come in contact with Nella meaning if the police got whiff of that they'd definitely suspect Nella was the killer. But Lavi had been with her the entire time, however to prove this he might have to watch her most of the time… maybe… Lavi looked over to where Kanda had placed himself beside the door.

'Oi Yuu, I'm going back to the hospital, you can cover the rest right?' Kanda glared at him from the doorway of the hotel stopping anyone from exiting or entering the place.

'Get out of here, and don't use my first name again!' Lavi hurried out before the man had time to throw anymore threats his way.

**Author's Note:**

**Here's the next chapter, I'm happy that you are all enjoying it so far so please keep up the reviewing! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

Lavi entered the hospital just in time to see Lenalee and Nella beside the front desk most likely getting Nella discharged. Lenalee seemed to have caught sight of him walking slowly towards them and beckoned him to hurry up.

'Hi, Lavi, good news, she's been allowed to leave but we need to think of her accommodation,' Lenalee seemed concerned about this but Lavi quickly mellowed this concern.

'We'll discuss that when we take Nella back to the Office,' Lavi explained to her as they did just that.

….

When they arrived the Office was just as busy as Lavi, Nella and Lenalee made room for a large plastic bag to move past them and to the basement, Lavi guessed that it was probably the body but he wasn't going to make that known yet. Though Lenalee seemed to have figured that out.

'So there was…' Lavi hushed her quickly when he saw Nella shudder and quickly led them both to his office where he closed the door and offered Nella a seat, which she refused with a simple shake of her head.

Lavi took a deep breath as he reached for the files on one side of his desk and opened it up placing seven photos down in front of her.

'Have you ever met anyone of these people?'

'Lavi, what are you doing!' Lenalee yelled at him but Lavi hushed her softly.

'I'll explain later… Nella, just point to the ones you've seen, spoken or met,' Lavi said, waiting patiently hoping that the theory he had come up with wasn't true. He watched as her single silver eye traced over the photos one by one and finally she pointed to all but three of them.

'Nella, I don't know how to say this but, those three were the previous victims before Mana's death… so they're dead,' Lavi watched her facial expression tightened as her silver eye quivered as a tear trailed down her cheek.

'Lavi? Where are you going with this?' Lenalee asked as she placed her hands on the woman's shoulders to reassure her.

'There's been another victim, he had come in contact with Nella within the last three hours,' Nella looked extremely confused by this as Lavi dwelled further.

'One of the three men that were harassing you before,' It looked like Nella finally understood as she paled and her shoulders beginning to shake violently, Lavi felt bad for shoving this all on her after she was beginning to overcome Mana's death.

Lavi sighed and came from around the desk and knelt in front of Nella, clasping his hands into her smooth pearly ones as they quivered slightly.

'We want to find whoever has been causing these crimes, and bring them to justice, but we can't do that without your help,' Lavi asked but Nella wasn't looking him in the eye, instead finding interest in the design of the carpet below their feet. He couldn't stop the feeling that Lenalee was angry with him as he stood up and glazed out the window.

'Until the killer's caught, I'd like you to live with me for the time being, I know you didn't kill those people but there are people who will be convinced otherwise,' that seemed to have caught Nella's attention as she gazed up and Lavi, uncertainty was readable in her expression that she didn't need words.

'Lavi, I'll take her in, brother won't mind…'

'Lenalee, my place is closest to the Office and I know how to sweet talk my way by police… and the Inspector,' Lavi finished by lowering his voice so that only she could here. It was evident that Lenalee held some sort of fear towards the Inspector in the Police Force; he was definitely someone Lavi least like to deal with.

In the meantime, Nella was gazing with confusion back and forth between them, clearly not understanding the situation going on around her.

'Fine,' Lenalee whispered and hurried out of his office, Lavi prayed she wouldn't go straight to Komui, who knew what her brother would do when he found out that Lavi made her cry.

….

It was rather late when Lavi lead her to his apartment; Nella was carrying a small briefcase that contained some spare clothes from Lenalee. At least the Chinese woman was persistent about that.

His apartment wasn't big, at least two bedrooms, a bathroom and a kitchen and living area tucked into the corner. It wasn't fancy, but could be described as cozy and livable.

He watched as Nella explored the apartment, she seemed like a child doing this but Lavi didn't say that aloud so as to not offend her in anyway. Lavi quickly stepped past her and showed her the room she would be using and she closed the door quickly in Lavi's face.

'I'll leave dinner on the table then,' Lavi grumbled as he left her to her own thoughts and began organizing dinner… he would have to do some shopping tomorrow to accommodator the extra person.

**Last part was random but oh well, I wanted to add that anyway… please review! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

Lavi bolted awake as a long hollow scream echoed through his small apartment, he had just barely gotten to sleep after having to deal with some extra paperwork and to be honest this was the last thing he needed.

He got up and made his way to Nella's room where he presumed that the source of the screaming was there. As he opened the door another shriek and a thud followed as Lavi glanced around the dark room, reaching for the light.

When the light illuminated the room, he saw that the bed was torn of most of its sheets and there was a shaking bundle in the far corner. Lavi sighed and slowly made his way over to it and placed his hands gently on what he had hoped were the shoulders.

The bundle tensed a bit as Lavi pulled the sheet away revealing Nella with tears staining her cheeks and her eyes swollen and red probably from crying so hard.

'Had a bad dream?' Lavi said quietly as Nella just stared at him as if he would suddenly attack her if her guard were left down. He let go of her shoulders and sat down in front of her with a wistful grin.

'I don't blame you after all you've been through,' he gave her a sympathetic look but almost panicked when she started to cry again.

'Ah! Wait… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry again,' Lavi stammered as he got to his knees wondering whether to comfort her or leave her alone. But Nella seemed to pull a small smile before burying her head into his chest.

Lavi blinked, he wasn't sure how to react but dared to put his arms around her anyway. She, again, tensed at his touch but slowly relaxed as he heard her breathing leveling out. He pulled her away slightly as her head lolled forward and he guessed that she finally fell back to sleep.

He leaned against the wall, not wanting to disturb her… well that's what he told himself anyway.

….

Lavi woke the next morning with the weight of Nella no longer against his chest. He groggily forced himself to wake up and glanced down blankly as a blanket fell from him. When was that around him?

But then he was distracted by smells from the kitchen and decided to investigate and saw Nella standing beside the stove cooking something delectable. Lavi smirked as he leaned against the doorway before Nella recognized his presence.

She turned around and flashed a smile, a warm bright one and gestured him to sit down.

….

Working to the Office was tough since Lavi still wanted to keep Nella from meeting the police. It was probably her smile and the breakfast she made that told him not to wreck her morning with people who would blame her for being the serial killer.

To Lavi, walking beside her didn't seem life threatening at all, Nella seemed mildly happy. She kept rather silent to the point Lavi hardly noticed that she was following him at all. Though the bandages around her face would easily make one pity her, it didn't deter her beauty from shining through.

Suddenly Nella looked in his direction and smiled, Lavi blushed a little then turned, he had been caught staring!

'Oi, baka usagi!' Lavi stopped causing Nella to bump into him and they both turned around to see Kanda coming up to them, possibly also making his way to the Office.

'Morning Yuu,' Lavi chirped happily as he noticed that the man's eyebrow twitched annoyingly.

'Stop using my first name!' Kanda yelled as Lavi felt Nella grab his arm, she must have been startled by Kanda's rage.

'Ah, sorry about that, Nella this is Yuu, Yuu this is Nella,'

Before Lavi could react, Kanda grabbed his collar and pulled him towards Kanda till Lavi could feel the man's breath breathing down on him.

'It's Kanda, you fucking…'

SLAP!

Lavi dropped from Kanda's grip as Kanda was holding his cheek painfully, Nella stood between them and she didn't seem very happy by the way her silver eye glinted.

'Get out of the way moyashi,'

Lavi saw clearly where this was going and quickly grabbed Nella's hand and dashed the rest of the way to the office with Kanda close on their heels.

….

Lavi lifted the chair above his head as Kanda brought out his katana.

'Oi Yuu, can't you chill for a bit,'

'Oh I'll chill once your fucking head is rolling around on the floor,'

That was how Lenalee found them when she eventually turned up at the Office and proceeded to whack them both over the head with the clipboard in her hands.

'Can we please refrain from fighting amongst each other in the office,' she said like she had been reciting it for a long time, in which she has. Lenalee sighed at him and Kanda before saying a quickly hello to Nella who was perched on the desk, watching the drama unfold before her.

'Oh yeah, last night we've found a possible witness from the latest murder, Mr. Hodges was actually next door when the murder occurred, so get you ass in interview room before I kick you in there,' Lavi laughed queasily but didn't dawdle longer because when Lenalee threatened, she actually meant it.

….

Lavi entered the interview room where Komui was talking quietly to the man in front of him.

'Ah, Lavi, it's good to see you actually arrived here,' Lavi rolled his eyes as he guessed what Komui had meant. He probably heard the fiasco outside.

'Yeah, yeah, I heard from Lenalee that you're Mr. Hodges,' Lavi moved to topic onto the man in the room as he held his hand out to greet the man. The man quickly exchanged shakes and a muttered 'good morning' before Lavi sat down with his notepad open and pen ready.

'So tell me what you heard while you neighbor was next door?' Lavi asked slowly.

'I remember hearing some sort of struggle in the next room,'

'Struggle? Could you be more specific?' Komui interjected before Lavi could ask his next question.

'There were thuds and maybe… I think there was a cry of help, but he was the type to feign trouble just for attention,'

Lavi jotted it down as he glanced up.

'Feigning trouble, why?'

'You know how travelers are, they'll do anything for freebies, he had gotten two pots of beer a week ago because he said that he had already paid, he definitely got kicked out of that pub for sure,' the man seemed rather nervous now as Lavi noticed that he was fidgeting.

'Will I… will I be next?' Lavi blinked as he stared up from his notes and sighed.

'I don't know,'

**Finally got this done, I hope that this isn't too confusing and please continued to review!**


	8. Chapter 8

Lavi's fears were realized just several days later as he stood before the bloody work of the serial killer, however, this time the killer made no attempt to make this seem… merciful.

The body of Mr. Hodges was everywhere, and unrecognizable at first glance. Lavi and Komui were both called to the alleyway store where people had been complaining about not getting their orders they had made at the shop.

The only thing to greet them when they finally pried open the doors was this gory mess. Lavi coughed and covered his mouth with his sleeve as Komui used a handkerchief.

'It seems to have been left on purpose… cough… the killer is aware of us trying to catch him,' Komui knelt beside one body part that lay sprawled around the small shop. Lavi didn't voice anything at that as he trudged through the gruel.

Some threat this was and Lavi feared that this might be only the beginning of such horrendous crimes.

'More importantly Komui… what is he trying to achieve? And why hasn't he killed Nella like his had done to Mr. Hodges?'

Komui sighed angrily and snapped the plastic glove onto his hand that made Lavi wince.

'If I knew that Lavi, we would have caught the criminal by now… stop thinking theoretical and start being logical… for example…' Komui picked up the piece of flesh he was kneeling beside.

'Take this for example. The cut is clean meaning a very sharp object was used, my opinion is a machete,' Lavi's eye twitched as Komui juggled it in his hand as if he was selling of a piece of meat at a butcher's market.

'See the bone… clean, smooth and no jagged effect… tendons expertly severed…'

'I see your point Komui, now put that down before I hurl over it,' Lavi demanded and unfortunately he wasn't joking as Komui pouted and put the body part back down, sighing again.

'But I do express my point clearly,'

'Very,' Lavi agreed sheepishly as he staggered towards the front door to relieve his nausea with fresh air.

…

As he stepped out side, Kanda was as usual; keeping curious people away with his devil-like stare and as Lavi slumped down beside the man his expert eye caught a glimpse of white.

'Lavi! I heard what happened, is it true?' Lenalee said rushing towards him dragging a confused Nella behind her. The Chinese woman stopped in front of him and looked at the store that he and Kanda were standing in front of.

'Yeah it is, not many things can really be explained with words, Lenalee,' Lavi grumbled as he took in deep breathed to settle his bubbling stomach.

'So brother's in there,' Lenalee reached for the door handle but Lavi barred her way quickly.

'I'd advise against it,'

'Why?'

'It's bad in there Lenalee, even I had to come out of there… it didn't help with your brother's engrossment in body matter,'

'Lavi, I'm an investigator just like you, I have an obligation to see the crime scene,' Lavi hated her when she used that kind of authority but firmly stood his ground.

'No Lenalee, just take Nella back to my apartment and I'll brief you on the details later,' Lavi said as Lenalee grizzled but made to turn away as Lavi stepped away from the door only for Lenalee to rush forward. Man, he could be so gullible as he tried to stop the persistent Lenalee.

Much to his annoyance she wrenched the door open and more than he had Kanda got a view of the crime scene as a high-pitched scream echoed from a terrified young woman. Lenalee stood still froze at the scene before her, as Lavi didn't have time for that as he rushed to Nella who seemed to shudder with panic.

'Nella calm down, it isn't Mana, it isn't Mana,' Lavi tried to reassure her as he drew her to his chest. He presumed that was what she was thinking when she saw the state of Mr. Hodges body. Lavi had to use his body to shield the rest of the people and Nella from the horrifying view as Kanda quickly pulled Lenalee away from the doorway and slammed the door.

'Oi baka usagi, take moyashi back to your apartment, I'll handle things here,' Kanda ordered as Lavi, for once, didn't argue and began to lead Nella way as she sobbed loudly in his chest.

**There you go everyone! Hope you enjoy this because I'm hoping to relieve some answers in the next few chapters! **

**Reviews will be much appreciated! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

Lavi led Nella back to his apartment, he was slightly glad to be away from such a scene but hadn't wanted this to be the reason why. He could feel the young woman shake as she whimpered into his jacket seemingly trying desperately to forget what she had seen.

It took a while but, Lavi did manage to open the door and led the traumatized girl inside and down onto a chair in the kitchen. He walked away deciding that maybe a warm cup of cocoa would help in a situation like this, it did in his earlier years as a detective.

He boiled the milk over the stove and added a few spoons of cocoa and sugar. Lavi made sure it was frothy and then poured the steaming beverage into two mugs and topped it with marshmallows. Lavi then handed one of the cups over the Nella who dully looked at it before entwining her slender figures around it without a muttering of thanks.

Lavi sighed and leaned against the table as he sipped his drink slowly.

'… Mana…' Lavi almost choked on the liquid pouring down his throat as he quickly spat it back into his cup and coughed dryly. Did she just speak? If so, her voice sounded melodic yet sad at the same time.

'What about him?' Lavi asked encouragingly, hoping she might finally say something but he had to be careful. If he spoke too suddenly, she might not be reluctant to speak again.

'We… thought it finally settled down… that we could finally live in peace… but…' Nella's hands turned white, Lavi noticed probably from clasping the mug tightly as he placed down his mug and knelt in front of her and placed his hands over hers.

'It's okay, there's nothing wrong with wanting to start anew,' Lavi reassured her as she stared up at him, her single silver eye quivered as tears welled up and slid down her cheek.

'Not if… not if…' she would have dropped the mug if Lavi hadn't been holding onto it too as he quickly placed it on the table and pulled her closer to his chest. He wanted to comfort her and to know more so that he could possibly help end her sorrows.

Her wails could be heard as she leaned in closer as if to feel his warmth and it wasn't long until Lavi was sitting on the floor cradling Nella in his lap.

'Hush, it's alright, you don't have to tell me,' Lavi said slowly rocking her, he had seen mother's do it to there children whenever they were scared and this seemed to help ease her shuddering.

'No, I can't… he… he always gets what he wants,' Nella's face was close, a little too close, as Lavi didn't know what compelled him to do it. Before he realized it, his lips caressed hers and before too long they were preoccupied in the deepness of the kiss.

She to be willing for it as Lavi reached his hand up and pushed several stray strands of snow-white hair away from her face and behind her ear. Nella tasted sweet as his tongue brushed past hers before they pulled apart, a soft blush tinting her pale complexion.

Lavi blinked.

'Ah, sorry about that…' he was stopped short of apologizing as she leaned forward and captured his lips with her own again. Lavi was stunned but soon fought for dominance as they broke away again.

Then before anything could be said between them, Nella pulled away from him and hurried to her room and closed the door behind her. Lavi sat on the floor completely dazed before he jumped back hitting his head on the table's edge.

What the fuck was he doing taking advantage of her like that? Lavi grizzled as he stood up and went to his own room. Maybe they could forget that that ever happened between them.

…

The next morning felt rather awkward for the both of them, Nella seemed to blush deeply every time she and Lavi caught each other's eyes, and she also hadn't spoken a thing since last night.

'Well, I suppose we should check your injury to see how well its healed,' Lavi said suddenly just to break the silence between them as Nella just nodded slowly but was not going to say a single word. So it was decided without much argument.

…

'It seems that you narrowly avoided losing your eyesight miss,' the nurse said as she leaned in Lavi way as she stared down at Nella's face. They had to wait for a good four hours since they had arrived at the hospital and it was rather uncomfortable indeed.

'Is that all nurse?' Lavi asked as he stopped leaning on the wall and came over to look at Nella. Her eye was slightly opened; probably she was testing it out after having to close it for almost two weeks. But what drew his eyes more was the bright red mark trailing down her eye, though this made her look more exotic and beautiful and hindering her current beauty.

Lavi blushed slightly as Nella did the same as stared quickly away before the nurse pulled Lavi away.

'The scar seems permanent, there's nothing more I can do for it,' she said as Lavi nodded and gestured Nella to follow him. She did just that but what he hadn't expected was her fingers being entwined in his. He stared at her but she shielded her face away from him.

Maybe he should leave it be for now…

**I hope you enjoy this though it wasn't much answering but I have made Nella speak and deepened the relationship so that in itself is an achievement to me!**

**Please review! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

Lavi was surprised at how quickly he was called back to the office. The crime scene at the shop had been finally cleared and what reminded of the body was taken down into Komui's basement area. Unfortunately there wasn't enough time to drop Nella off at his apartment so she had to come along to.

'Lenalee, take care of Nella for me while I see your brother,' Lavi called out over the noise that accumulated in the Office and headed for the basement where Komui was busy still connecting the body together like a jigsaw puzzle.

'Ah Lavi, good to see you made it,' Komui exclaimed waving the arm he was holding around like an extra limb.

'Honestly Komui, you shouldn't play with the dead like that,' Lavi said going slightly green at the sight. The way the joint at the elbow clicked every time it was waved to one side gave him the shivers.

'Why~ it's fun,'

'Well sorry we don't all share your enthrallment in corpses,' Lavi said as he glanced away quickly before he could feel the familiar bubbling sounds in his stomach and grabbed the files closest to him on the counter.

'Fine, Mr. Hodges body had been diced into a fair amount of pieces,'

'How many?'

'More than the number of bones in your body that's for sure,' Komui remarked darkly as he lifted the corpse's chin for Lavi to examine the red curling grin that stretched ear to ear.

'This was not the first cut made, I'd say the killer was making his point to Hodges that speaking up is the last mistake he ever made,' Komui's voice was grim as Lavi glanced down at the body. He could now pick up the similarities between Mr. Hodges and the body better than the state it had previously been in.

'It could have been directly pointed at us,'

'Good point,' Komui let the chin slump back down onto its chest and proceeded to the right hand he had been waving around.

'See this hand, we still can't find the very tips of the fingers,' Lavi flinched as Komui showed him a close view of the hand, a little too close in Lavi's opinion as he recoiled as the appendages dangled in front of his eye.

But despite the horror of the sight, Komui had made a very good observation… Where were the fingertips?

'Are you sure they aren't somewhere on the shop floor?'

'Nope, sifted through that area with a fine-toothed comb, not a tip in sight,' Komui seemed mildly amused by what he was saying but Lavi was left to worry about it.

'Maybe the killer's collecting trophies?' Lavi shivered as Komui made the chilling suggestion.

'If so then why not take something from the other ten victims and leave Nella alive?' Komui fell silently before shrugging his shoulders comically before covering the body with a sheet.

'Who knows? You're the detective around here, figure it out,'

…

It happened long after Lavi decided to call it a night and took Nella back to his apartment. He was lying in his bed with his hands behind his head thinking about everything that had happened. All of it didn't add up.

The first few murders could possibly have been random and then the next lot had some sort of connection with Nella. Now the killer seemed to be teasing them and probably daring anyone else to come out and tell of what they know.

Lavi shuddered and rolled over in the sheets as he decided to at least get a few hours of sleep before the sun rose. But it looked like fate had another thing planned as a blood-curdling scream pierced through the silence making Lavi fall completely off his bed and onto the cold floor.

He panicked slightly as he rushed to untangle himself and hurried out of his room and to where the source of the scream was.

He could hear Nella wailing loudly on the other side of the door as he wrenched it open and saw, through the dimness, her dark form huddled at the head of the bed. Lavi's hand made a move to the light switch.

'Don't…' a desperate plead was whispered but the light blindly lit up the room as Nella screamed again as her silver eyes stared at the brick lying at the foot of her bed.

The window was smashed, glass scattered all over the floor but that wasn't what made Lavi's blood run cold.

Tied to the brick was something that he had least expected to see. Four fingertips were tied around it, looking as if a hand was rising out of the bedcovers to grab the slab of stone.

Lavi knew straight away what was going on as Nella scrambled from the bed and wrapped her arms around his shoulders with tears streaming down her face as he quickly ushered her into the next room. He wanted to take a closer look before collecting it but he had to hand it to Komui tomorrow.

As he came up to the brick, Lavi slowly lifted it up and shoved it into the nearest bag he could find before getting out of the room.

Lavi found Nella huddled on the crouch, her face deadly pale as she hugged her knees close to her chest. She didn't look as if she would move anytime soon so Lavi grabbed the nearest blanket and placed it over her shoulders, leaving the light on and headed back to his own bed.

There was nothing else he could think of doing but he knew he should do something more. Right now, Nella was a crucial witness nothing more but Lavi would sometimes slightly forget about it until something like this happened.

He quickly gathered his fallen blankets and slumped back onto his bed but his mind was now filled with more confusion than before as he sighed heavily and turned towards the pillow. Lavi wasn't sure what time it was but he soon felt that there was extra weight on the other side of his bed and stole a glance over his shoulder to see that Nella had crept into his room and was curled against his back, wrapped in her own blankets.

Lavi turned back over, ignoring the light blush spreading over his cheeks and before he knew it, he too was fast asleep.

**I wonder did anyone suspect that was going to happen? Hmm, maybe so but oh well!**

**Please continue your reviews! :)**


	11. Chapter 11

Lavi stretched his arms as he woke up and felt something solid on the other side of his bed. Groggily, Lavi lifted his head to stare at it and caught the sight of white hair cascading down slender shoulders.

'Argh!' He gasped in fright and tumbled off the bed… again as he sat up and rubbed where his head hit the ground. Lavi had slightly forgotten that Nella had crept into his room and fell asleep. Luckily enough she was still sleeping as he stole out of the room quickly and turned on the kettle.

Times like these really do ask for coffee, a very strong one as he scratched the back of his neck and sighed. What was he? A coward? He, Lavi who stared at the horrors of this catch-me-if-you-can serial killer had left behind without a so much trouble was frightened out of his room because of a young woman sleeping… slightly seductive… in his bed.

Lavi groaned aloud as he finally put together his coffee and turned around taking a deep sip of the hot liquid. Nella soon walked into the room looking like a three year old child, rubbing her eyes… Lavi glanced at the tabletop quickly, blushing.

Lavi shook his head and quickly excused himself to get changed so he could get those fingertips to Komui.

…

'No kidding, through the window?' Komui was shocked as he gapped at the fingertips, untying them and matching them to the tip less hand. Lavi nodded.

'It went into where Nella was sleeping, scared her senseless it did,' Lavi added as he gazed at Komui going about his work to stitch the fingers into place on Mr. Hodges' hand before stepping back satisfyingly.

But that positive emotion soon headed downhill as Komui stared at him sternly.

'Don't you think that it's possible that the killer will target Nella now? I mean it was sent through her window,' Lavi shivered at the thought but shook his head anyway.

'If so then why later than when he killed Mana?' Komui grumbled as he folded the cloth over the corpse one last time and wheeled it over to the storage area.

'Another question, where's Nella?' Lavi gagged at the question muffled from the storage area and raced up the stairs before Komui appeared again.

IDIOT!

…

Lavi raced up the stairs and just as he reached the doors, he heard a scream, mostly likely, he knew it had to be Nella as he reached for the door. Drat the door was locked as Lavi heard Nella's whimpering and didn't think twice as he stepped back and kicked his very own door down.

'NELLA!' Lavi called out as he grabbed an umbrella and rushed into the kitchen where Nella was cowering in the corner, a tall figure dressed head to toe in black towered over her. The hood of the jacket covered any observable feature of their face except for a pair of sparkling gold eyes.

'Oi, get away from her!' He lunged at the figure, brandishing the umbrella like a sword. The figure unfortunately retaliated by swinging their arm and Lavi watched a glint of silver glide inches from his face.

Lavi stepped back and blocked the next attack with his umbrella but was shocked to find the figure's weapon of choice sliced threw metal and fabric as if it were butter. He gapped at it before he realized that the figure was coming at him again.

Suddenly, Nella reacted by opening one of his cupboards and hurling the first thing her fingers grabbed, a glass plate. The figure dodged it but Nella kept hurling them until one of the plates hit them on the right shoulder. With a hiss, they turned around and ran for the window.

'Bastard, WAIT!' Lavi ordered as the person smashed through the window and down to the ground three floors below. He rushed to the window and glanced around the empty alleyway below… nothing, the person vanished into thin air.

Lavi kicked the lower wall angrily, the first glimpse of the killer and he slipped through his fingers just like that.

Then he felt a gentle presence behind him and the touch on the shoulder that made him turn around and he met the silver eyes and soft smile of Nella. The gratitude, though not expressed in words, was evident in her smile that Lavi couldn't bare to look but kept staring anyway.

Before he knew it, she leaned up and captured his lips with her own. Lavi quickly pushed her away and stared at her confused frown.

'Wait… we shouldn't, I mean…' Nella giggled at him.

'It meant thank you,' her voice small yet melodic just like the last time he had heard it. Lavi blushed scarlet at his foolishness and looked away.

'Right,' Nella nodded in agreement before Lavi kissed her back managing to slip into her slightly opened mouth. When they parted, it was her turn to look red and embarrassed.

'I was get returning the favor,' Lavi snickered.

**Got this done finally, thought it was time that we'd get a glimpse of the killer not much but it'll leave you guessing~!**

**Please REVIEW!**

**:)**


	12. Chapter 12

Lavi had to move apartment after that incident, Nella was more than willing with that plan of action probably because she was eager to not hang around there any longer just in case he decided to show up.

The worry expressions of Komui and Lenalee were clearly defined on their faces as he explained to them the events that had occurred after he had rushed back to the apartment.

'Well your timing couldn't have been better, any second longer and Nella would have become diced meat,' Komui had said with a nod of his head but the frown still remained. Lavi had told them the best description of the killer as best he could, golden eyes being the main feature of the person.

….

The apartment was closer to the Office just in case a similar incident happened again, which Lavi had hoped wouldn't. He gazed around the small apartment of two bedrooms, a bathroom and a living space with a kitchen included. Lavi really wanted his old apartment back but until that killer's caught that was going to be a little difficult.

'Nella do you need help?' Lavi asked as Nella came in carrying a box that seemed to contain as few of the remaining kitchenware that hadn't been thrown at the killer. Nella shook her head with a frown as she bypassed his outstretched arms and dumped the box on the table.

She cocked her head at him, a smirk twitching on those pale lips of hers that Lavi ripped the tape off the box and began to pack the plates, cups and utensils away in their respectful places.

Before long, an urgent knocking called from the front door as Nella went to get it before Lavi could reach his bedroom door.

'Out of the way, moyashi,' Lavi rolled his eyes, as he knew whom that was and greeted the Asian man in the kitchen with a sigh.

'Fancy seeing you here,'

'Shut up, Komui asked me to fetch you… the police have found something… disturbing at the loading docks,' Lavi frowned and grabbed his coat slung across the back of a table chair and hurried out of the door before pausing.

'Nella grab your coat too,' he called to her as the young woman nodded and did just that and followed them both down to the car waiting out front.

….

The docks quite and duller looking than the streets they had turned away from. Lavi sat in the passenger seat with Kanda driving and Nella gazing blankly out the window in the back. The ride had been quiet since Kanda refused to give away any information about why Lavi had been called.

'Not when the moyashi's around, fucking hell,' Kanda had hissed at him as Lavi had tried a number of times to get an answer. Well there was one, Nella kept grumbling every time Kanda mentioned the nickname he gave her.

When they arrived, the place was teeming with police officers shouting orders at one another as Lavi, Kanda and Nella got out of the car and walked over to where Lavi had managed to spot Komui talking calmly with some policemen.

'I assure you, he's… oh Lavi, good… Why's Nella here?'

'Considering what happened the other day, I thought there would be no harm bringing her along,' Lavi said cheerfully making Komui wince slightly as if he couldn't have disagreed more.

'So you're Miss Nella Walker, adopted daughter of Mana Walker, hmm?' Lavi froze; he knew that voice too well as he stared at the narrow eyed man looking at Nella up and down. Nella nervously stepped behind him, gripping the sleeve of his coat tightly.

'Inspector Rouvelier, she almost became the next victim, please give her some sympathy,' Lavi said as he recovered from his shock and placed a reassuring hand over Nella's quivering arm. Rouvelier looked at him smugly and turned away from them.

'Well then Lavi Bookman, would you mind following me then,' Rouvelier said and walked into the factory tapped off to the public.

Inside was dark except for a few fluorescent lights dangling from the ceiling. The area smelled of old salt water and rusting metal but that wasn't what bothered him. Lavi had a bad feeling that he didn't want to see what Rouvelier had to show him.

….

Soon they came upon a room tucked into the far corner of the factory, practically out of his line of sight if not for the bold red and white tape streaking from the entrance. He felt Nella's grip loosen till she finally stopped all together.

Lavi glanced at her, her face filled with terror beyond what he had seen before as he reached out and clasped her slender hand and gave it a squeeze

'It'll be alright,' Lavi said soothingly to her but he wasn't so sure himself as he smiled cheerfully at her earning him a small smile and tint of red in return.

'In the early hours of the morning several workers discovered this office… it's been in use recently,' Rouvelier explained as he stepped into the well-lit room with pictures decorating all four walls. Lavi stood marveling at the spectacle in front of him but at the same time felt slightly intimidated.

The pictures included places, even of the victims themselves. There were pieces of paper with scribbling words of time, place and descriptions. But what made him shiver was that everything was connected by bright red string trailing around the room looking like some sort of spider's web.

'It looks well planned,' Lavi said slowly regaining his composure before weaving through the string and came over to the only furniture in the room… a desk. But even that wasn't spared of any type of paper or picture. Lavi noticed several files and picked up one of them and flipped through it.

Within the cardboard binding was information on Mana Walker. Lavi grimaced then picked up the next file fearing of what he thought might be Nella's… it was much to his dismay as he placed that down, closed on top of the other.

Then he opened the last file, the person was called Neah Walker, seemingly the brother of Mana and the adoptive uncle of Nella.

Lavi heard a quick gasp as the file was whipped from his hands and he saw that Nella had followed him. He watched her quickly flip through it as if her life depended on it before she dropped to the floor cradling the file in her arms.

'Nella?'

'He still wants revenge… still…' she began crying as badly as she had done for Mana when he was first killed and a few days after that. Lavi knelt beside her and gripped her shoulder in a way that told her that he would try and help her.

Rouvelier though had something else in mind.

'Miss Walker, you must tell us who this person is?' The man's voice was harsh as Lavi stood up and stepped between her and Rouvelier before the Inspector could get any closer.

'Her silence has kept her alive, Rouvelier, if she speaks now, the killer will surely come after her,'

'Shut up Baka usagi… she isn't the next one on his fucking list,' there was a pause as the two spun around to face Kanda as he held up one picture in particular. Lavi grimaced at it… it was a picture of him.

**Man, I'm getting excited now! I wonder if you can guess the killer now…?**

**Anyhow, please continue your REVIEWS! **

**:)**


	13. Chapter 13

The next thing to happen when Kanda stood there holding the photo was that Lavi burst into a fit of laughter. Somehow he found this very amusing to say the least and that left everyone staring at him like the idiot he was.

'That's the best joke you've pulled yet, Yuu,' Lavi laughed

'You're missing the fucking point, baka usagi!' came Kanda's reply, his hand was hovering just inches from the helm and looked as if to drawing the sword strapped to his waist while.

One glance at Nella told him he went a little too far in his joke as tears welled up in those big silver eyes.

'Ah… Nella?' Lavi tried to calm her down but she had already begun bawling little a small child scared out of sleep from a nightmare. She was staring at him despite the tears, a straight defiant look and it made Lavi rather nervous.

'I… I...' Nella rushed out of the room quickly without finishes what she was trying to say. Lavi went to follow her but Rouvelier stopped him.

'You have to be careful around her,' Lavi frowned at the Inspector.

'You don't mean to say that you suspect her as the killer?'

'I'm just keeping an open mind but you… you seemed to be thinking somewhere else,' Rouvelier made his point by screwing his finger into Lavi's chest, just above his heart. Lavi slapped the man's hand away and stormed out of the room with Kanda following close behind.

At least they agreed on one thing here, that Rouvelier was a bastard!

…

Komui greeted them when they came out with an inquisitive look.

'I saw Nella come out of the factory looking rather upset, do you know why?' Kanda groaned and pointed accusingly at Lavi who just responded by scratching the back of his neck apologetically.

'Don't explain, I think she headed back to the car,' Komui pointed out to Lavi, it was obvious that the sister-complex wanted Lavi to apologize to the girl directly despite not knowing the extent of his actions.

Lavi sighed heavily and followed Komui's directions to the car parked on the other side of the yard. Nella was there as Komui had guessed, huddled out of view of the policemen scouring the place for any other clues.

'Hey,' Nella ignored him, which kind of made him feel bad, really bad. Lavi crouched down beside her and stared at the loose stones in the road.

'I'm sorry about before, I was trying to lighten up the situation,'

'How can you think that?' Nella was gazing at him, the anger he had seen before was gone and pure sorrow filled those silvery depths. Lavi looked away; maybe he did go too far this time.

'It's just how I work I suppose, the jokester and baka usagi,' she laughed despite the tears flowing from her eyes as she quickly wiped them away.

'Baka, baka usagi,' Lavi went a slight shade of red, Nella was smiling at him and for a moment all the beautiful things in the world would have become jealous. Her smile was dazzling and innocent that made Lavi wonder why such terrible things were happening around her.

But as soon as she smiled, it dropped and shattered like glass.

'Aren't you worried?' Nella whispered as she muffled her words into her knees.

'I'd be lying if I said no, I'm terrified but that would mean the killer will come after me and there could be a possibility that'll he'll be caught…'

'Don't think like that!' Nella had turned around suddenly and grasped at his sleeve as if thinking that Lavi might leave at any moment.

'What about me?'

'Do you think Mana would appreciate it? I might not know him but a father would think like that,' She grimaced at his words but it was stubborn determination to otherwise reflect those words.

'B-but what about me? I…'

'Oi baka usagi, we're leaving!' Kanda interrupted her as he stormed past her to get to the driver side door. Lavi looked at Nella expectantly, hoping she would continue but her mouth seemed sealed and wouldn't betray any words she was about to say.

…

The drive back to the office was slight, probably because everyone in the car was slightly bewildered by what they saw in that small room. Lavi wasn't as worried about that as he was about the unspoken words Nella had yet to say to him. What was she implying to then?

Lavi sighed aloud, drawing an annoyed look from the Asian driver. He doubted that Nella was going to say anything else other than that for a while.

'_**B-but what about me…?'**_

What had she been hinting there? Lavi felt like it was important to know but unfortunately, Rouvelier was right, he was thinking too much with his heart than his head.

**Here is the next chapter! (Sighs) finally got one story finished and I'm to focus more on my others soon but ARGH! That's what you get from trying to work at least six stories at once and then there's bloody schoolwork to juggle with that. **

… **Life is a circus act… literally!**

**Please REVIEW!**


	14. Chapter 14

The next few weeks were quiet and nothing else, but either way, it made Lavi rather nervous because it was just like the calm before a storm. Nella seemed to have the same thought as she gazed at her untouched mug of cocoa. She has been as silent as always and Lavi had to put up with her sleeping in his room, stubbornly refusing to leave him alone.

Lavi thought it was creepy at first then began to think that she was still worried and concerned for his safety but such foolishness would lead her to her end. Nella began to urge him to tell everything that was happening about the case, even if she didn't say anything her actions spoke for her loud and clear.

He was finished off his cocoa and stared at her stirring the brown liquid with the tip of her finger.

'Are you going to drink that?' Lavi asked as Nella frowned at him and skulled the drink right then. Her frown remained as she gazed out the window of their rented apartment.

'Look, I said I was sorry,' Lavi said as she shook her had, it almost looked pitiful. Nella stood up and dumped her cup in the sink and walked passed him grabbing her coat.

'Oi, where are you going?' Lavi asked as he rushed to grab his coat and hurried after her. Nella had reached the door by now as she turned back and smiled at him but Lavi didn't trust her smile.

'I'm coming with you,' she didn't voice a protest as they exited the apartment together. It was still fairly earlier in the morning a light fog wrapped around the buildings and there were hardly anyone out in the street.

The two walked in silence for a bit despite Lavi's urge to talk to her or at least break the silence around them. It made him feel rather nervous and uncomfortable but Nella seemed to enjoy it slight.

'So… are you still mad about the other day?'

'Lavi,' she paused in her stroll and stared at him with confusion probably wondering why he had brought up that incident again.

'You've been silently lately, not like that's anything unusual and you've claimed my bed, are you still worried about me being his next target?' The more he spoke, Lavi could tell she was going as red as the rose that bloomed beside her.

'S-shut up!' She turned on her heel and walked into the park as Lavi jogged up to her to catch up.

'You really can be cute sometimes,' Lavi pointed out cheekily earning him a punch in his ribs. Nella was pouting at him as he laughed.

'All right then, so you're just naturally concerned,' she glanced around as the redness welled in her cheeks again.

'I don't want to lose anyone I… I'm close to, to him,' there it was again, some sort of hesitation as Lavi lifted his hand and brushed away the white strands that fell into her silvery eyes.

'Want to rephrase that?' he said slowly, Nella glared at him.

'I-I… love…' she was red again almost blending in her red scar over her left eye as Lavi leaned in and captured her lips before she had a chance to finish what she was saying.

As he kissed her, he felt her hesitation but she soon overcame that and responded by opening her mouth slightly to deepen the kiss. But as soon as they parted the sound of rustling leaves made them step back suddenly just as Lavi saw a blur of black beside him.

Before Lavi could comprehend what was happening, he stood back while hearing the whoosh and flash of some kind of blade and the icy trails along his skin before pain flooded across his skin as warm blood.

He lurched over, trying to stop him self from screaming in pain as clasped his hands over his right eye and the left side of his neck just as Nella screams began to slowly fade away.

_Shit! _

Lavi gritted his teeth as he ripped the bottom of his coat and wrapped it around his neck to secure the bleeding before he gave chase. The fog wasn't helping much but he could make out the dark shadowy figure threw the mist and Nella's screams.

He picked up pace before sweeping up a branch off the ground as he chased after the person who was no doubt the killer he had been tracking.

'Let her go you bastard,' Lavi called out but the loss of blood was making it difficult to follow the man without stumbling. The killer laughed before pausing and whipped around holding a blade against Nella's throat.

Lavi froze and stopped to as the hood fell away from the head of the killer revealing the dark curly hair of a young man close, if not older than himself. Golden eyes flashed through the dimness of the light as Lavi gripped on the branch, feeling like such an idiot.

'Seems like I just missed your jugular, what a pity,' the man whistled almost unsympathetically as Nella whimpered in his grip as she tried to squirm her way free. But it only resulted in having the blade pressed closer to her throat till a thin trail of red dripped from the blade.

Lavi's hand instinctively went to the nasty gush on his neck and almost thanked lady luck for that fortunate. But his main focus was to try to apprehend the killer while getting Nella back unharmed. Not like that was going to be an easy task as Lavi tried to take a step forward.

'I wouldn't do that if I were you,' the man hummed as he grabbed Nella's white hair and wrenched her head back exposing her neck further. Lavi could tell she was trying her best not to cry as the man ran his tongue along the side of her neck and up to her earlobe.

'Why did you kill so many people? What are you trying to achieve?' Lavi shouted as the man's golden eyes flickered over to him before returning the slender neck he was assaulting with his tongue and mouth.

'Jealous?'

'Just answer the question damnit!' Lavi flared as the man sighed and leaned against Nella's shoulder.

'For her,'

DUN DUN DUUUUN! Tune in next time to see the conclusion!

Please REVIEW!


	15. Chapter 15

Lavi glared at him, he couldn't tell if he was angry or disgusted. Why… no what would persuade a man to do this for the attention of a girl?

'So you killed those she loved because it was for her sake?' Lavi said obviously infuriated by this sick killer. Nella only whimpered in distress, most likely worried for his sake but she had herself in a very precarious situation.

'I'm glad you understand…'

'It's sick!' Lavi interrupted him, which the man didn't like at all as he moved the blade away from his hostage's throat and pointed in at Lavi with a lazy look in his eye.

'Sick? The fact that you've had your way with her is what makes me sick! How dare you touch what is mine,' the man seemed furious as he roughly shoved Nella onto the ground.

'At least I showed her the respect she deserves,' when Lavi saw the dangerous glint in the man's eye, he feared that he had went too far as the man came at him at such inhuman speeds that Lavi's only reflex was to swipe the branch in front of him to deter the path of the man.

It worked only briefly as the man stepped back quickly and lunged at Lavi's exposed side but Lavi wasn't an amateur when it came to dodging thanks to his taunting of a particular Asian person he knew.

Twisting to the side, Lavi did his best to knock the man back with the branch he was holding but, like the umbrella, it didn't last very long as it was sliced as if it Lavi was just wielding a carrot.

The man stood back as Lavi glanced dumbly at the chopped up stick, showing off his potent weapon of choice. Lavi gulped nervously as he chucked the useless branch aside; there was a slim chance that he was completely insane because of the plan that had just come up in his head.

'Your pretty good, much more fun than those bastards I killed,' the killer noted before once again, rushing towards Lavi. This time Lavi made no move to dodge but kept his one good eye on the blade whizzing around like a silvery blur in the man's hand.

When Lavi was sure where it would be moved to he made a grab for it but his aim was off and it caught the killer off guard. Through this distraction Lavi brought his elbow down in the space between the base of the killer's neck and shoulder blade, throwing the man's balances off to the point that he fell to the ground.

But Lavi's performance only seemed to amuse him as he laughed and stood up slowly facing Lavi once more.

'That… was surprising but I still have the upper hand,' the man sneered as Lavi saw the man's gold eyes flicker over to Nella who was watching from where she stood. She seemed paralyzed and fear dazzled her silver eyes.

'Nella!' She jerked at the sudden call of her name as the man came at her, probably finally going to deal the deadly blow before Lavi jumped in and grabbed the man's wrists and a fierce struggle began between the two.

The killer was strong, very strong as Lavi nervously stared at the blade that was hovering and shaking just centimeters from his face. It was hard but it seemed like the killer himself was having a tough time trying to throw off Lavi's grip.

Lavi knew better than let the man get the upper hand as he stepped forward and brought his heel down on the man's foot causing the man to hiss in pain. The blade loosened in his grip and Lavi used that opportunity to throw the man off sending the blade sprawling across the ground a good distance away.

'Fuck you,' the man threw a punch as Lavi ducked but another fist came from under him and knocked him flat off his feet. Dazed, Lavi coughed as if he could feel the contents of his stomach about to erupt from his mouth. He could faintly hear a cry from Nella's quivering lips.

'You think I'd give up after everything I went through,' Lavi felt the man's boot smash into his exposed ribs and he heard the sound of some bones breaking. He felt the man's hand grip his collar and plummet him against the truck of a tree.

Lavi could feel the ragged bark burying into the crevices of his spine as the killer threw fist after fist at his face.

'That bastard of an uncle kept me from her at first so I killed him, then his goody-goody brother took Nella away on a trip overseas… but when I heard they came back, oh I knew I had to act…'

'So you killed all those she came in contact with and those she cherished so that she would eventually come running to you,' Lavi puffed as he struggled to see through his swollen left eye.

'No, I wanted her begging me on her hands and knees,'

'NO!' The harsh cry caught both of them off guard as the killer turned around in surprise as Nella dashed towards him, his own blade flashing in her hands and before both of them could react, the blade trailed along the man's neck and bright red spurted from the deep wound like a fountain.

Lavi felt the man's grip loosen as he clutched his throat and gurgled horribly as he desperately tried to stop the blood from pouring out of him. He glanced at a rather shocked Nella who quickly dropped the knife and ran to him.

'Are you all right?' She was panicked and scared as she looked over his wounds that covered most of his body and the dried blood.

'Felt better,' Lavi coughed dryly as he stared at the man's withering body as the last of his blood flowed from his body.

That was the last saw till he gave into the blood loss.

….

Next thing Lavi knew was that he woke up in the hospital wing, bandages tightly bound his right eye and neck and he hurt all over to move. When he did eventually he felt his hand brush against something long and silky.

He glanced along the side of the bed to see a mop of long white hair entangled in his fingers. It seemed like Nella had fallen asleep watching over him because he quickly shook her awake.

'Lavi… you're up?' she asked, it felt strange having her talk so naturally but she must feel safe to do so now than before as Lavi beamed a smile at her.

'Despite the bandages, everything's ok!'

'Che, don't be smart baka usagi! You barely came out of that with several broken ribs and a fractured collarbone,' grizzled an all to familiar voice as Lavi whipped his head to look at the doorway.

'Yuu, Lenalee, did you come to see me?' Lavi asked happily as Kanda glared at him but didn't make a move to do anything violent probably because Lavi was already in a sorry state.

'Don't call me that or you'll have more injures to worry about,' Kanda threatened but his tone of voice was light, which was unusual for the stoic man.

'Stop being rude… we came to see how you are doing,' Lenalee said as Lavi thought for a bit.

'What about the killer?'

'Alive against all odds and facing court in a matter of days… though I hope he gets sentenced for life,' Lenalee replied stiffly as she eyed the curtains that billowed on the warm spring breeze.

'I hope so…' Nella sighed as Lavi gave her hand a comforting squeeze.

'I'd sentence the idiot who gives him a fair go after all his done,' Lavi said but despite his easygoing attitude, her was being serious.

'You right,' Nella smiled and entwined her fingers into his.

**The End! Thank you all for your loving support and reviews it has been greatly appreciated by me!**

**Oh and any last REVIEWS will be happily received!**


	16. Author's Note: PLEASE READ!

**MercenaryCrime checking in!**

**Thank you for your constant support in my story 'Love can Kill' and I'm here to give you good news! **

**I have begun planning for the sequel! There will be a new plot and killer but with the same old characters you love and some new ones two…**

**Here's a brief summary of what I have so far C:**

_**Months after the events of 'Love can Kill', Black Order Investigations have begun to settle down but it is short lived… now Lavi is once again in pursuit of a strange serial killer with an obscure method of killing their victims. But as the stakes rise, Lavi might lose more than his life this time… **_

**Title is still undecided but I hope to have this out once I've finished at least one of my current stories!**


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